This application relates broadly to devices for holding coiled rope in life raft canisters for allowing easy pay out thereof in times of emergency.
Some life raft storage systems comprise clamshell canisters designed to hold, for example, sixteen man life rafts with provisions for survival at sea in an event of an emergency. Such life rafts are inflated by means of compressed-air cylinders which are also encased in the clamshell canisters. Compressed air is released from the cylinders into the rafts when lanyards, that are respectively attached to valves of the cylinders, are pulled. In a prior-art example, such a lanyard is attached to an inner-end portion of a 100 foot coiled rope or rope bundle, which is also encased in the clamshell canister, with an outer-end portion of the coiled rope being attached to a tie cleat on a boat. When an emergency occurs, for example when a boat on which such a clamshell canister is mounted is sinking, the clamshell canister is thrown overboard along with the enclosed life raft and compressed-air cylinder. Since the outer-end portion of the coiled rope is affixed to the boat, as the clamshell canister and life raft fall downwardly the coiled rope is paid out, or pulled out, of the clamshell canister until the clamshell canister travels 100 feet from a tie cleat to which its outer-end portion is attached. At this point, the rope is placed under tension, which tension pulls the lanyard, thereby opening a valve on the cylinder of compressed air to inflate the raft in the clamshell canister. As the raft inflates, it applies outwardly directed force on the clamshell canister, which separates top and bottom halves of the clamshell canister, thereby releasing the life raft to be ready for use.
Previous methods of storing coiled rope in such clamshell canisters has often caused "snagging" of the rope during pay out thereof. That is, while a coiled rope is being paid out of a falling clamshell canister, it has sometimes, snagged, so that it never applied tension on an inner-end portion of the rope and therefore never activated a cylinder of compressed air. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a bung plug assembly which allows easy pay out of a rope from a clamshell canister with reduced possibilities of snagging.
A similar and related problem for some prior-art clamshell canister assemblies is that it has been time consuming and difficult to prepare and install coiled ropes therefor. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a bung plug assembly which not only decreases snagging during rope pay out but also which can be easily and quickly installed.
Similarly, it is an object of this invention to provide a bung plug assembly which can be relatively easily inspected and refurbished.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a bung plug assembly which reduces premature rope pay out.
In some prior art clamshell canister assemblies, bung plug assemblies and coiled-rope organizers were not attached to one another, which sometimes allowed undesirable independent action therebetween during rope pay out and sometimes required extra steps during assembly thereof. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a bung plug assembly which combines bung plug and rope organizing functions, and which can be easily and quickly mounted on a clamshell canister.